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Kia Sedona Rental
The Kia Sedona we rented to drive to Wyoming from Florida really was a
2006 model and we drove it for nearly 5000 miles so here is my review. Overall, I liked it for travelling. It has lots of room, very good climate control system with dual controls for front and back (at last, the front and back can agree), good pickup and lots of legroom. The MSRP tag was still in the glove box and it is about $24,000. It drove very well with only a slight shimmy near 80 mph. It got about 23.5 mpg at 70 mph (remember, this was serious long distance so I have lots of data). A minor problem was the suspension. It made the expansion joints in concrete interstate seem like washboard roads.......brutal. We tend to take vehicles places they are not s'posed to go and this was no exception. We took her over nearly 4WD roads in the mountains and she did well never bottoming out. MAJOR PROBLEM: The transmission. Unlike most automatics that have P,R, N, D, 2, 1 the Kia had P. R, N, D, +, -. From my reading the manual, I think the +,- is sort of like "split" gears. In any drive gear, you can either go up or down a half gear, a good idea in concept but it didnt work. Obviously, for mountain driving, lower gears are a necessity for going up or down steep grades. With a normal automatic, you simply use the 2 or 1 (sometimes labelled 2 or 3) to go up a sttep grade and use the same for engine braking going down steep winding roads. Casper, WY is at 5000' and the top of Casper Mt is 8000' and the road is seriously steep and winding with no guard rails. The +, - thing would not work at all so I had to allow the tranny to cool when we got half way up. Coming down was worse as I coudn't do engine braking with this inoperable +, - system so even pulsing th ebrakes and allowing them to cool half way down, they were fading and smelling bad at the bottom. Going down Towgotee Pass toward Jackson, the tranny wouldn't work although this is only a 6% grade. Going up and down Signal Mt in Grand Teton Park, suddenly it worked very well and I liked it. It worked going the other way through Towgotee Pass. We went back through Casper to look at some property on the mountain there and sure enough, it wouldn't work at all again forcing me to take the LOOOOOOOoooooooonnnggg back way down the mountain to avoid overheated brakes. THE BOTTOM LINE: If the transmission worked, it would be a good vehicle but as it is, I would reject it. Sorry Rob. |
Kia Sedona Rental
NOBODY GIVES A **** !!!!!!!!
wrote in message ps.com... The Kia |
Kia Sedona Rental
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Kia Sedona Rental
MAJOR PROBLEM: The transmission. Unlike most automatics that have P,R, N, D, 2, 1 the Kia had P. R, N, D, +, -. From my reading the manual, I think the +,- is sort of like "split" gears. In any drive gear, you can either go up or down a half gear, a good idea in concept but it didnt work. Obviously, for mountain driving, lower gears are a necessity for going up or down steep grades. With a normal automatic, you simply use the 2 or 1 (sometimes labelled 2 or 3) to go up a sttep grade and use the same for engine braking going down steep winding roads. Well, either you're the most ignorant driver around or something else is up....your choice. Fact: The Manual mode of ANY sportsmatic type tranny takes the place of 2 and 1 gear selection. It's NOT half gears. It simply locks the car into whichever gear you want and it's a 5 speed tranny. This system has been replacing the older one for years now. You will find it on many, many cars, SUVs and even a Subaru outback! Fact: The Kia Sedona has more power than ANY minivan built today...and more torque. I've yet to even need the manual mode and I drive to the Pocono mountains all the time. Every review has made note of this. For engine breaking simply put the tranny in 2, 3 or 4. Works just like the older system, but with more control and range. . What's the name of the place where you rented a 2006 Sedona? A lot of folks would be interested. RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
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"Swab Rob" wrote I've yet to even need the manual mode and I drive to the Pocono mountains all the time. Ooh Yeah! That interstate 80 is like a goat path up a mountain. A lot of folks would be interested. Name 3. -- Scotty ''One who never gets out of the Sound cannot, with any degree of credibility, comment on the courage of fellow sailors'' ....F.B. |
Kia Sedona Rental
A lot of folks would be interested. Name 3. Go to the Edmunds forum. Plenty of folks want to rent the Sedona to test beyond a 1 or 2 day period. We rented a Sienna here for a week. Great minivan, just too short on power. RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
"Capt. Rob" wrote in message oups.com.. .. A lot of folks would be interested. Name 3. Go to the Edmunds forum. Plenty of folks want to rent the Sedona to test beyond a 1 or 2 day period. We rented a Sienna here for a week. Great minivan, just too short on power. name 3 ! |
Kia Sedona Rental
wrote in message ps.com... The Kia Sedona we rented to drive to Wyoming from Florida really was a 2006 model and we drove it for nearly 5000 miles so here is my review. Overall, I liked it for travelling. It has lots of room, very good climate control system with dual controls for front and back (at last, the front and back can agree), good pickup and lots of legroom. The MSRP tag was still in the glove box and it is about $24,000. It drove very well with only a slight shimmy near 80 mph. It got about 23.5 mpg at 70 mph (remember, this was serious long distance so I have lots of data). A minor problem was the suspension. It made the expansion joints in concrete interstate seem like washboard roads.......brutal. We tend to take vehicles places they are not s'posed to go and this was no exception. We took her over nearly 4WD roads in the mountains and she did well never bottoming out. MAJOR PROBLEM: The transmission. Unlike most automatics that have P,R, N, D, 2, 1 the Kia had P. R, N, D, +, -. From my reading the manual, I think the +,- is sort of like "split" gears. In any drive gear, you can either go up or down a half gear, a good idea in concept but it didnt work. Obviously, for mountain driving, lower gears are a necessity for going up or down steep grades. With a normal automatic, you simply use the 2 or 1 (sometimes labelled 2 or 3) to go up a sttep grade and use the same for engine braking going down steep winding roads. Casper, WY is at 5000' and the top of Casper Mt is 8000' and the road is seriously steep and winding with no guard rails. The +, - thing would not work at all so I had to allow the tranny to cool when we got half way up. Coming down was worse as I coudn't do engine braking with this inoperable +, - system so even pulsing th ebrakes and allowing them to cool half way down, they were fading and smelling bad at the bottom. Going down Towgotee Pass toward Jackson, the tranny wouldn't work although this is only a 6% grade. Going up and down Signal Mt in Grand Teton Park, suddenly it worked very well and I liked it. It worked going the other way through Towgotee Pass. We went back through Casper to look at some property on the mountain there and sure enough, it wouldn't work at all again forcing me to take the LOOOOOOOoooooooonnnggg back way down the mountain to avoid overheated brakes. THE BOTTOM LINE: If the transmission worked, it would be a good vehicle but as it is, I would reject it. Sorry Rob. I've driven the Toyota Sienna over the exact same roads earlier this year. We got 26 mpg and there was absolutely no funny shifting needed at all. Let me know when you get one to the top of Pike's Peak, Mt Evans and Mt Bross (4wd). Ours has been over Imogene Pass as well. The transmission easily handled the pass between Driggs and Wilson both up and down. I did see a Kia on the side of the road, I thought they were taking pictures until the tow truck pulled up. The Kia's extended warranty is the same as a doctor promising to fix you for free as a result of his own malpractice. Go for the real value, the trade in value. The extended warranty is only worth something if the car breaks. For the extended warranty to be of value, the car has to be of little value. Either way, you pay! |
Kia Sedona Rental
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Kia Sedona Rental
"Capt. Rob" wrote in message oups.com... Dave, Puh-lease!!! You wrote some crap about half shifts and in-between gears. Most upscale Minivans and SUV's now carry the same tranny and no 1 and 2 gear anymore. Not the Sienna! 1st and 2nd available for serious mountain driving! You can shift into any of the gears. The transmission is as smoooth as silk! Here, see for yourself: http://www.toyoland.com/car-reviews/sienna.html L-2-3-4-D !!!!! Aaahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa KIA = Junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kia can't handle low end torque or low end drivability!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bwaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahaa!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!! ...like this for YEARS. Even Subaru has it along with Nissan, Lexus, BMW, Audi, Porsche....but you know cars? You don't! Sienna transmission - has what Kia doesn't! Yeah, okay! Like I said, we drive this van to the Pocono's. You want to explain how the van with the most HP and torque gets up long steep grades without even leaving drive, but not for you? The Pocono's vs the Rocky Mountains! Aaahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! There's bigger hills in the plains of Colorado or Wyoming than the biggest "mountains" in Pennsylvania!!! In fact, the tallest "mountain" in Pennsylvania would be 2000 feet underground in Colorado!!! oooohohohohohoaaaahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In fact EVERY review mentions the engine's power and tranny ability. But somehow you had a problem. They don't test them in mountainous terrain! You don't sound like you have a clue. And the way you tried to use the tranny makes no sense. Put the car in 3rd and it stays there. How could you have an engine breaking problem??? Hmmmmmm? The warranty will fix it! What in Pennsylvania looks like this: http://www.widerange.org/photo.php?id=403 Or has a road to the top like this: http://www.tourvelo.org/cycle.jpg A road at over 14,000 feet with 2,000 foot drop offs!!!!!! You need AWD to drive in Queens!!!!! Aaaahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kia = junk! |
Kia Sedona Rental
Rob:
Somehow you thought it was impossible for me to rent a 2006 Sedona so how reliable are you? The "Poconos", are those some ant hills in NY? What are they, maybe 4000'? Do you have any concept of a serious long steep grade, not like anything on an interstate. As I said, the tranny with its + and _ is arranged like some older "split gears" and it is. However, the + and - actually goes up and down a full gear. I am certain I know far more about mountain driving than you having spent years driving just about every type of vehicle all over the most remote regions of the western US. As far as trannies on new cars are concerned, our 2005 Toyota Highlander has the P,R, N,D,2,3(L) still and works just fine on such steep grades. I do agree, the Kia does accelerate well and may have a lot of torque but the +, - on the tranny simply did not work except in two cases. When it did work, I liked it. However, when coming down a very long steep winding grade with 180 degree switchbacks every 1/8 mile or so you must be able to use a lower gear and the Kia simply did not work. I actually did try to use the - to try to keep her in 2nd gear (3rd gear and you'd be over the side) but it didnt work, no engine braking at all except on the lesser grade on Towgotee Pass and Signal Mt. On the most extreme grade, it just didnt work. I had the put the AC on high to get a tiny bit of engine braking and turn it off going up. The Kia may be a fine vehicle for Eastern hills but for serious mountain driving it is dangerous due to the unreliable tranny. Get a grip Rob, no vehicle is perfect. My old truck with manual tranny is perfect for where I drive but I'd not want it in NYC. Likewise, the Kia Sedona is great for normal conditions but for those of us who go weird places it just wont do. BTW, my wife remarked that she wouldnt like the Sedona if our kids were small because she would want the child seat in the middle and the Kia has no such middle seat. If you think this is nitpicking, I would agree. Capt. Rob wrote: wrote: Rob: We rented the 2006 Sedona from Alamo for about $536 for two weeks. I have driven far more types of vehicles than you could imagine with many types of transmissions. Dave, Puh-lease!!! You wrote some crap about half shifts and in-between gears. Most upscale Minivans and SUV's now carry the same tranny and no 1 and 2 gear anymore...like this for YEARS. Even Subaru has it along with Nissan, Lexus, BMW, Audi, Porsche....but you know cars? Yeah, okay! Like I said, we drive this van to the Pocono's. You want to explain how the van with the most HP and torque gets up long steep grades without even leaving drive, but not for you? In fact EVERY review mentions the engine's power and tranny ability. But somehow you had a problem. You don't sound like you have a clue. And the way you tried to use the tranny makes no sense. Put the car in 3rd and it stays there. How could you have an engine breaking problem??? Hmmmmmm? RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
It's a death trap!!
wrote in message ups.com... Rob: Somehow you thought it was impossible for me to rent a 2006 Sedona so how reliable are you? The "Poconos", are those some ant hills in NY? What are they, maybe 4000'? Do you have any concept of a serious long steep grade, not like anything on an interstate. As I said, the tranny with its + and _ is arranged like some older "split gears" and it is. However, the + and - actually goes up and down a full gear. I am certain I know far more about mountain driving than you having spent years driving just about every type of vehicle all over the most remote regions of the western US. As far as trannies on new cars are concerned, our 2005 Toyota Highlander has the P,R, N,D,2,3(L) still and works just fine on such steep grades. I do agree, the Kia does accelerate well and may have a lot of torque but the +, - on the tranny simply did not work except in two cases. When it did work, I liked it. However, when coming down a very long steep winding grade with 180 degree switchbacks every 1/8 mile or so you must be able to use a lower gear and the Kia simply did not work. I actually did try to use the - to try to keep her in 2nd gear (3rd gear and you'd be over the side) but it didnt work, no engine braking at all except on the lesser grade on Towgotee Pass and Signal Mt. On the most extreme grade, it just didnt work. I had the put the AC on high to get a tiny bit of engine braking and turn it off going up. The Kia may be a fine vehicle for Eastern hills but for serious mountain driving it is dangerous due to the unreliable tranny. Get a grip Rob, no vehicle is perfect. My old truck with manual tranny is perfect for where I drive but I'd not want it in NYC. Likewise, the Kia Sedona is great for normal conditions but for those of us who go weird places it just wont do. BTW, my wife remarked that she wouldnt like the Sedona if our kids were small because she would want the child seat in the middle and the Kia has no such middle seat. If you think this is nitpicking, I would agree. Capt. Rob wrote: wrote: Rob: We rented the 2006 Sedona from Alamo for about $536 for two weeks. I have driven far more types of vehicles than you could imagine with many types of transmissions. Dave, Puh-lease!!! You wrote some crap about half shifts and in-between gears. Most upscale Minivans and SUV's now carry the same tranny and no 1 and 2 gear anymore...like this for YEARS. Even Subaru has it along with Nissan, Lexus, BMW, Audi, Porsche....but you know cars? Yeah, okay! Like I said, we drive this van to the Pocono's. You want to explain how the van with the most HP and torque gets up long steep grades without even leaving drive, but not for you? In fact EVERY review mentions the engine's power and tranny ability. But somehow you had a problem. You don't sound like you have a clue. And the way you tried to use the tranny makes no sense. Put the car in 3rd and it stays there. How could you have an engine breaking problem??? Hmmmmmm? RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
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Kia Sedona Rental
"Capt. Rob" wrote in message ups.com... It's a death trap!! The Sienna came in 4th in crash tests last year. The Kia was NUMBER ONE. Sorry, Bob. When the brakes fade, the transmission fails at braking and the thing lurches over the guard rail on a mountain pass you can cry #1 all the way to the bottom! Have you ever even seen the Rocky Mts? I don't think you ever even hiked in the woods. |
Kia Sedona Rental
I've driven the Toyota Sienna over the exact same roads earlier this year. We got 26 mpg A lie, folks. No one at Edmunds is reporting such mileage for the Sienna. Toyota Sienna...4th safest minivan! RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
8 mile or so you must be able to use a lower gear and the Kia simply did not work. I actually did try to use the - to try to keep her in 2nd gear (3rd gear and you'd be over the side) but it didnt work, no engine braking at all except on the lesser grade on Towgotee Pass and Signal Mt. The ONLY time a sportsmatic type tranny will shift out of the hold-gear is when you drop below or above safe RPM range. My father lives at near the top of Pocono mountains and there are some amazing grades there. The Sedona has no trouble and holds 2nd or 3rd perfectly. I shift between them from 20-45 mph. No one has reported ANY trouble such as yours in ANY review or in ANY forum. Hmmmmmm. I guess no one else lives in the mountains and has a sportsmatic tranny. Dude, you're either full of it or a bad driver. Sorry. And Toyota is switching to sportsmattic for 2008, Bob. So I guess you won't like it anymore! Sienna...4th rated in crash tests! RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
Rob:
I drove the Sedona for 5000 miles, I know what it did and the "sportsmatic" tranny just didnt work. I've driven enough different vehicles over more mountains than you will see in several lifetimes and I know how to drive mountains. Strangely, unlike the AutoWeb review, we thought it had a lot of road noise compared to our Highlander making conversations tween front and back difficult. The AutoWeb review reports trouble getting it to use the + whereas we had trouble with both the + and - so our experience is in line with theirs. I am not familiar with the Polomar Mt road so cannot assess where they drove but I bet my 5000 mile drive was far more comprehensive. In every other way, it is a fine car and even safe in most situations but not for real mountain driving. The tranny was unreliable. Capt. Rob wrote: 8 mile or so you must be able to use a lower gear and the Kia simply did not work. I actually did try to use the - to try to keep her in 2nd gear (3rd gear and you'd be over the side) but it didnt work, no engine braking at all except on the lesser grade on Towgotee Pass and Signal Mt. The ONLY time a sportsmatic type tranny will shift out of the hold-gear is when you drop below or above safe RPM range. My father lives at near the top of Pocono mountains and there are some amazing grades there. The Sedona has no trouble and holds 2nd or 3rd perfectly. I shift between them from 20-45 mph. No one has reported ANY trouble such as yours in ANY review or in ANY forum. Hmmmmmm. I guess no one else lives in the mountains and has a sportsmatic tranny. Dude, you're either full of it or a bad driver. Sorry. And Toyota is switching to sportsmattic for 2008, Bob. So I guess you won't like it anymore! Sienna...4th rated in crash tests! RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
Uh, fella's here's the Kia Sedona Autoweb VIDEO....they liked everything and only said the tranny was sluggish to downshift (needs break-in). http://www.autoweb.com/content/resea...na/?vid=r_0212 Kia Sedona....#1 in crash test safety...HIGHEST EVER TESTED, most power and torque, shortest stopp distance and so on! Sienna....4th safest minivan! RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
wrote in message ups.com... Rob: I drove the Sedona for 5000 miles, I know what it did and the "sportsmatic" tranny just didnt work. I've driven enough different vehicles over more mountains than you will see in several lifetimes and I know how to drive mountains. Strangely, unlike the AutoWeb review, we thought it had a lot of road noise compared to our Highlander making conversations tween front and back difficult. Of course a Toyota SUV is quieter than the Kia minivan! The Highlander is built on a Camry chassis. The AutoWeb review reports trouble getting it to use the + whereas we had trouble with both the + and - so our experience is in line with theirs. I am not familiar with the Polomar Mt road so cannot assess where they drove but I bet my 5000 mile drive was far more comprehensive. The magazine is all that matters. In every other way, it is a fine car and even safe in most situations but not for real mountain driving. The tranny was unreliable. Capt. Rob wrote: 8 mile or so you must be able to use a lower gear and the Kia simply did not work. I actually did try to use the - to try to keep her in 2nd gear (3rd gear and you'd be over the side) but it didnt work, no engine braking at all except on the lesser grade on Towgotee Pass and Signal Mt. The ONLY time a sportsmatic type tranny will shift out of the hold-gear is when you drop below or above safe RPM range. My father lives at near the top of Pocono mountains and there are some amazing grades there. The Sedona has no trouble and holds 2nd or 3rd perfectly. I shift between them from 20-45 mph. No one has reported ANY trouble such as yours in ANY review or in ANY forum. Hmmmmmm. I guess no one else lives in the mountains and has a sportsmatic tranny. Dude, you're either full of it or a bad driver. Sorry. And Toyota is switching to sportsmattic for 2008, Bob. So I guess you won't like it anymore! Sienna...4th rated in crash tests! RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
"Capt. Rob" wrote in message oups.com... I've driven the Toyota Sienna over the exact same roads earlier this year. We got 26 mpg A lie, folks. No one at Edmunds is reporting such mileage for the Sienna. You lie! 26 mpg is reported in several places. Even the EPA has tested it to that. You lie! Toyota Sienna...4th safest minivan! Only if you drive on flat ground! |
Kia Sedona Rental
"Scotty" wrote: -- "Swab Rob" wrote I've yet to even need the manual mode and I drive to the Pocono mountains all the time. Ooh Yeah! That interstate 80 is like a goat path up a mountain. You would have intimate knowledge of goats, Snotty! I'll give you that... A lot of folks would be interested. Name 3. Scotty and Lisa Vernon for starters...or do you just do cattle? LP |
Kia Sedona Rental
Of course a Toyota SUV is quieter than the Kia minivan! Subaru Tribeca interior noise at 70 MPH 66 DB Lexus RX 330 67 DB Kia Sedona EX 66 DB Toyota Highlander 70 DB Honda Pilot 71 DB Toyota Sienna 69 DB Honda Od. 65 DB (best) Kia beats all but Honda on interior noise. Sienna...4th safest and 3rd most noisy! RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
"Capt. Rob" wrote in message ups.com... Sienna...4th safest and still more less likely to roll over than a Tribeca! |
Kia Sedona Rental
No one at Edmunds is reporting such mileage for the Sienna. You lie! 26 mpg is reported in several places. Even the EPA has tested it to that. You lie! Go to Edmunds. 100's of Seinna owners and no one seeing 26 MPG. NO ONE. Kia does better. RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
Capt. Rob wrote: No one at Edmunds is reporting such mileage for the Sienna. You lie! 26 mpg is reported in several places. Even the EPA has tested it to that. You lie! Go to Edmunds. 100's of Seinna owners and no one seeing 26 MPG. NO ONE. Kia does better. RB 35s5 NY When we got the Sedona, It had just over 7000 miles on it. When we turned it in, it had over 12000 miles on it. How long a break in period does it require for the tranny to work right? |
Kia Sedona Rental
When we got the Sedona, It had just over 7000 miles on it. When we turned it in, it had over 12000 miles on it. How long a break in period does it require for the tranny to work right? Gee, Dave, are you talking about half or full shifts??? Dude, if only you hadn't totally exposed youself with that comment about half shifts, you'd have a better troll going. RB 35s5 NY |
Kia Sedona Rental
Capt. Rob wrote: When we got the Sedona, It had just over 7000 miles on it. When we turned it in, it had over 12000 miles on it. How long a break in period does it require for the tranny to work right? Gee, Dave, are you talking about half or full shifts??? Dude, if only you hadn't totally exposed youself with that comment about half shifts, you'd have a better troll going. RB 35s5 NY I have driven the Sedona under more different types of conditions (other than snow or ice) than Rob or any of the reviewers so my experience counts for more than theirs. I stand by my review as being fair and accurate. I bet that if we took a poll here, we would find that people here take my review more seriously than Rob'. |
Kia Sedona Rental
wrote in message oups.com... I bet that if we took a poll here, we would find that people here take my review more seriously than Rob'. You are an engineer. Bobsprit reads and parrots the sales brochures. RB has never had an original thought in his head ever. Engineers design, create, evaluate cars, bridges, rockets, roads and all that has ever been built by man. Bobsprit has created nothing unless one includes readi-mix cake batters or a B movie rehash that would make Ed Wood choke. "Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake he had taught his brothers to light. He was considered an evildoer who had dealt with a demon mankind dreaded. But thereafter men had fire to keep them warm, to cook their food, to light their caves. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had lifted dardness off the earth. Centuries later, the first man invented the wheel. He was probably torn on the rack he had taught his brothers to build. He was considered a transgressor who ventured into forbidden terrritory. But thereafter, men could travel past any horizon. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had opened the roads of the world. "That man, the unsubmissive and first, stands in the opening chapter of every legend mankind has recorded about its beginning. Prometheus was chained to a rock and torn by vultures-because he had stolen the fire of the gods. Adam was condemned to suffer-because he had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Whatever the legend, somewhere in the shadows of its memory mankind knew that its glory began with one and that that one paid for his courage. "Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received-hatred. The great creators-the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors-stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won. "No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his brothers, for his brothers rejected the gift he offered and that gift destroyed the slothful routine of their lives. His truth was his only motive. His own truth, and his own work to achieve it in his own way. A symphony, a book, an engine, a philosophy, an airplane or a building-that was his goal and his life. Not those who heard, read, operated, believed, flew or inhabited the thing he had created. The creation, not its users. The creation, not the benefits others derived from it. The creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men. "His vision, his strength, his courage came from his own spirit. A man's spirit, however, is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego. "The creators were not selfless. It is the whole secret of their power-that it was self-sufficient, self-motivated, self-generated. A first cause, a fount of energy, a life force, a Prime Mover. The creator served nothing and no one. He lived for himself. "And only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things which are the glory of mankind. Such is the nature of achievement. "Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. Animals obtain food by force. Man has no claws, no fangs, no horns, no great strength of muscle. He must plant his food or hunt it. To plant, he needs a process of thought. To hunt, he needs weapons, and to make weapons-a process of thought. From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from a single attribute of man-the function of his reasoning mind. "But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. There is no such thing as a collective thought. An agreement reached by a group of men is only a compromise or an average drawn upon many individual thoughts. It is a secondary consequence. The primary act-the process of reason-must be performed by each man alone. We can divide a meal among many men. We cannot digest it in a collective stomach. No man can use his lungs to breathe for another man. No man can use his brain to think for another. All the functions of body and spirit are private. They cannot be shared or transferred. "We inherit the products of the thought of other men. We inherit the wheel. We make a cart. The cart becomes an automobile. The automobile becomes an airplane. But all through the process what we receive from others is only the end product of their thinking. The moving force is the creative faculty which takes this product as material, uses it and originates the next step. This creative faculty cannot be given or received, shared or borrowed. It belongs to single, individual men. That which it creates is the property of the creator. Men learn from one another. But all learning is only the exchange of material. No man can give another the capacity to think. Yet that capacity is our only means of survival. "Nothing is given to man on earth. Everything he needs has to be produced. And here man faces his basic alternative: he can survive in only one of two ways-by the independent work of his own mind or as a parasite fed by the minds of others. The creator originates. The parasite borrows. The creator faces nature alone. The parasite faces nature through an intermediary. "The creator's concern is the conquest of nature. The parasite's concern is the conquest of men. "The creator lives for his work. He needs no other men. His primary goal is within himself. The parasite lives second-hand. He needs others. Others become his prime motive. "The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. To a creator, all relations with men are secondary. "The basic need of the second-hander is to secure his ties with men in order to be fed. He places relations first. He declares that man exists in order to serve others. He preaches altruism. "Altruism is the doctrine which demands that man live for others and place others above self. "No man can live for another. He cannot share his spirit just as he cannot share his body. But the second-hander has used altruism as a weapon of expoloitation and reversed the base of mankind's moral principles. Men have been taught every precept that destroys the creator. Men have been taught dependence as a virtue. "The man who attemps to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality-the man who lives to serve others-is the slave. If physical slavery is repulsive, how much more repulsive is the concept of servility of the spirit? The conquered slave has a vestige of honor. He has the merit of having resisted and of considering his condition evil. But the man who enslaves himself voluntarily in the name of love is the basest of creatures. He degrades the dignity of man and he degrades the conception of love. But this is the essence of altruism. "Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution-or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement. "Men have been taught that their first concern is to relieve the sufferings of others. But suffering is a disease. Should one come upon it, one tries to give relief and assistance. To make that the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life. Then man must wish to see others suffer-in order that he may be virtuous. Such is the nature of altruism. The creator is not concerned with disease, but with life. Yet the work of the creators has eliminated one form of disease after another, in man's body and spirit, and brought more relief from suffering than any altruist could ever conceive. "Men have been taught that it is a virtue to agree with others. But the creator is the man who disagrees. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to swim with the current. But the creator is the man who goes against the current. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to stand together. But the creator is the man who stands alone. "Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egotist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self. "Here the basic reversal is most deadly. The issue has been perverted and man has been left no alternative-and no freedom. As poles of good and evil, he was offered two conceptions: egotism and altruism. Egotism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self. Altruism-the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self. When it was added that man must find joy in self-immolation, the trap was closed. Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal-under the threat that sadism was his only alternative. This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind. "This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life. "The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the code of the second-hander. This is the basic issue. It rests upon the alternative of life or death. The code of the creator is built on the needs of the reasoning mind which allows man to survive. The code of the second-hander is built on the needs of a mind incapable of survival. All that which proceeds from man's independent ego is good. All that which proceeds from man's dependence upon men is evil. "The egotist is the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in his thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man-and he asks no other man to exist for him. This is the only form of brotherhood and mutual respect possible between men. "Degrees of ability vary, but the basic principle remains the same: the degree of a man's independence, initiative and personal love for his work determines his talent as a worker and his worth as a man. Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity. There is no standard of personal dignity except independence. "In all proper relationships there is no sacrifice of anyone to anyone. An architect needs clients, but he does not subordinate his work to their wishes. They need him, but they do not order a house just to give him a commission. Men exchange their work by free, mutual consent to mutual advantage when their personal interests agree and they both desire the exchange. If they do not desire it, they are not forced to deal with each other. They seek further. This is the only possible form of relationship between equals. Anything else is a relation of slave to master, or victim to executioner. "No work is ever done collectively, by a majority decision. Every creative job is achieved under the guidance of a single individual thought. An architect requires a great many men to erect his building. But he does not ask them to vote on his design. They work together by free agreement and each is free in his proper function. An architect uses steel, glass, concrete, produced by others. But the materials remain just so much steel, glass and concrete until he touches them. What he does with them is his individual product and his individual property. This is the only pattern for proper co-operation among men. "The first right on earth is the right of the ego. Man's first duty is to himself. His moral law is never to place his prime goal within the persons of others. His moral obligation is to do what he wishes, provided his wish does not depend primarily upon other men. This includes the whole sphere of his creative faculty, his thinking, his work. But it does not include the sphere of the gangster, the altruist and the dictator. "A man thinks and works alone. A man cannot rob, exploit or rule-alone. Robbery, exploitation and ruling presuppose victims. They imply dependence. They are the province of the second-hander. "Rulers of men are not egotists. They create nothing. They exist entirely through the persons of others. Their goal is in their subjects, in the activity of enslaving. They are as dependent as the beggar, the social worker and the bandit. The form of dependence does not matter. "But men were taught to regard second-handers-tyrants, emperors, dictators-as exponents of egotism. By this fraud they were made to destroy the ego, themselves and others. The purpose of the fraud was to destroy the creators. Or to harness them. Which is a synonym. "From the beginning of history, the two antagonists have stood face to face: the creator and the second-hander. When the first creator invented the wheel, the first second-hander responded. He invented altruism. "The creator-denied, opposed, persecuted, exploited-went on, moved forward and carried all humanity along on his energy. The second-hander contributed nothing to the process except the impediments. The contest has another name: the individual against the collective. "The 'common good' of a collective-a race, a class, a state-was the claim and justification of every tyranny ever established over men. Every major horror of history was committed in the name of an altruistic motive. Has any act of selfishness ever equaled the carnage perpetrated by disciples of altruism? Does the fault lie in men's hypocrisy or in the nature of the principle? The most dreadful butchers were the most sincere. They believed in the perfect society reached through the guillotine and the firing squad. Nobody questioned their right to murder since they were murdering for an altruistic purpose. It was accepted that man must be sacrificed for other men. Actors change, but the course of the tragedy remains the same. A humanitarian who starts with declarations of love for mankind and ends with a sea of blood. It goes on and will go on so long as men believe that an action is good if it is unselfish. That permits the altruist to act and forces his victims to bear it. The leaders of collectivist movements ask nothing for themselves. But observe the results. "The only good which men can do to one another and the only statement of their proper relationship is-Hands off! "Now observe the results of a society built on the principle of individualism. This, our country. The noblest country in the history of men. The country of greatest achievement, greatest prosperity, greatest freedom. This country was not based on selfless service, sacrifice, renunciation or any precept of altruism. It was based on a man's right to the pursuit of happiness. His own happiness. Not anyone else's. A private, personal, selfish motive. Look at the results. Look into your own conscience. "It is an ancient conflict. Men have come close to the truth, but it was destroyed each time and one civilization fell after another. Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men. "Now, in our age, collectivism, the rule of the second-hander and second-rater, the ancient monster, has broken loose and is running amuck. It has brought men to a level of intellectual indecency never equaled on earth. It has reached a scale of horror without precedent. It has poisoned every mind. It has swallowed most of Europe. It is engulfing our country. "I am an architect. I know what is to come by the principle on which it is built. We are approaching a world in which I cannot permit myself to live. "Now you know why I dynamited Cortlandt. "I designed Cortlandt. I gave it to you. I destroyed it. "I destroyed it because I did not choose to let it exist. It was a double monster. In form and in implication. I had to blast both. The form was mutilated by two second-handers who assumed the right to improve upon that which they had not made and could not equal. They were permitted to do it by the general implication that the altruistic purpose of the building superseded all rights and that I had no claim to stand against it. "I agreed to design Cortlandt for the purpose of seeing it erected as I dedigned it and for no other reason. That was the price I set for my work. I was not paid. "I do not blame Peter Keating. He was helpless. He had a contract with his employers. It was ignored. He had a promise that the structure he offered would be built as designed. The promise was broken. The love of a man for the integrity of his work and his right to preserve it are now considered a vague intangible and an inessential. You have heard the prosecutor say that. Why was the building disfigured? For no reason. Such acts never have any reason, unless it's the vanity of some second-handers who feel they have a right to anyone's property, spiritual or material. Who permitted them to do it? No particular man among the dozens in authority. No one cared to permit it or to stop it. No one was responsible. No one can be held to account. Such is the nature of all collective action. "I did not receive the payment I asked. But the owners of Cortlandt got what they needed from me. They wanted a scheme devised to build a structure as cheaply as possible. They found no one else who could do it to their satisfaction. I could and did. They took the benefit of my work and made me contribute it as a gift. But I am not an altruist. I do not contribute gifts of this nature. "It is said that I have destroyed the home of the destitute. It is forgotten that but for me the destitute could not have had this particular home. Those who were concerned with the poor had to come to me, who have never been concerned, in order to help the poor. It is believed that the poverty of the future tenants gave them the right to my work. That their need constituted a claim on my life. That it was my duty to contribute anything demanded of me. This is the second-hander's credo now swallowing the world. "I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number or how great their need. "I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others. "It had to be said. The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing. "I wished to come here and say that the integrity of a man's creative work is of greater importance than any charitable endeavor. Those of you who do not understand this are the men who're destroying the world. "I wished to come here and state my terms. I do not care to exist on any others. "I recognize no obligations toward men except one: to respect their freedom and to take no part in a slave society. To my country, I wish to give the ten years which I will spend in jail if my country exists no longer. I will spend them in memory and in gratitude for what my country has been. It will be my act of loyalty, my refusal to live or work in what has taken its place. "My act of loyalty to every creator who ever lived and was made to suffer by the force responsible for the Cortlandt I dynamited. To every tortured hour of loneliness, denial, frustration, abuse he was made to spend-and to the battles he won. To every creator whose name is known-and to every creator who lived, struggled and perished unrecognized before he could achieve. To every creator who was destroyed in body or in spirit. To Henry Cameron. To Steven Mallory. To a man who doesn't want to be named, but who is sitting in this courtroom and knows that I am speaking of him." |
Kia Sedona/ debated by yacht brokers :^)
OK ASA'er
Time to sit back and observe. You probably won't learn anything but interesling. Kind of like watcing a Lawyer & Insurance Agent have at it! ENJOY!!_______"I'LL DRINK TO THAT!" http://community.webtv.net/tassail/ThomPage |
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